Dipping machine



Nmr. 3, 3936. W R N 2N59fi3 DIPPING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l,

in 133% IINVENTOR 2&59339 NW, 3,, 1936. W. T. GREEN DIPPING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June '26, 1934 Q INVESTOR 1. 6 26 71 BY 2 ,0 7 ATTORN Y Patented Nov. 3, 1936 mrrmc mom William T. Green, Newark, N. 1., assignor to Mans & Waldsteln 00.. Newark, N. 1., corporation of New Jersey Application June as. 1934, ser al No. 132,405 Claims. (01. 91-40) This invention relates, generally, to the coating of articles with lacquers, varnishes, and etc., and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel dipping machine for dipping articles 5 in lacquers or other coating compositions for the purpose of coating the articles.

Dipping machines heretofore used for coating The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel dipping machine that is so 20 constructed and arranged as to overcome the above objections, the said machine being adapted to rapidly produce perfectly coated objects in quantity.

Another object of the present invention lies in the provision of a novel dipping machine of the above character having means for elevating and lowering the container of coating material with respect to the work or articles being coated,

the latter being held stationary. 3U Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel dipping machine of simple, rugged and reliable construction, the said machine being easily operated and economically maintained. as Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be clearly understood from the following detailed descrip-- tion of the same.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the ac- 40 companying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of the dipping 4 machine, the front panel of the machine being broken away to better illustrate the construction of the machine. 45 Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the machine,

one side panel being broken away to better illus trate the machine.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine with parts broken away.

50 Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating the machine in operation, and

Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of the structure shown in Fig. 4 with the coating material 55 container broken away.

Similar characters of reference are employed v in said views to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to the said drawings, the reference numeral I designates the frame of the dipping machine which consists essentially of four 5 angle bar uprights that are interconnected and braced by horizontal angle bars 2. A table 8 is fixed upon the top of the frame I. Upstanding brackets 4 are mounted upon the end portions of table 3, the said brackets 4 being adjustable with- 10 in limits longitudinally of table 3 by means of bolts and slots 36.

Two of the brackets 4 are mounted on each end portion of the table 3 and are interconnected by horizontal bars 5 that are attached at their it ends to the brackets l as by wing bolts 6. The wing bolts 6 extend through any selected horizontally aligned pair of a plurality of vertically spaced apertures 1 provided in the two brackets 4 at each end of the table. Thus, by removing wing 20 bolts 6 from one pair of apertures i and inserting them in another lower or higher pair of apertures I, the bars 5 may be raised or lowered.

The bars 5 are adapted to support a horizontal panel 8 provided preferably with a plurality of 5 apertures 9 that may be of various sizes for frictionally receiving and supporting stems iil carrying suspended work pieces or articles Ii to be coated (see Figs. 4 and 5). A coating material container l 2 is adapted to be positioned below the '3 panel 8, the said container i2 being mounted upon a vertically movable rectangular. platform. is. Platform i3 is fixed upon the upper end of apiston rod it that extends downwardly through an aperture in table 3, through the upper head or end of a hydraulic cylinder i5, and has a piston to fixed to its lower end for reciprocating within cylinder I5. As especially shown in Fig. 4 the piston I6 is preferably provided with adownwardly directed cup leather I'I for preventing the pas- 40 sage of water upwardly past the piston Hi;

The platform I3 is illustrated as provided adjacent its corners with depending guide rods l8 that are fixed to the under. surface of platform l3 and extend downwardly through s'lide bearings I9 mounted in apertures in the table 3. Guide rods l8 and slide bearings l9 cooperate with piston rod H in controlling the movement of plat form l3 so that this platform moves up and down smoothly, freely and without vibration in use.

The dipping machine is illustrated as having frontand rear walls 2| and 22 and side walls 23 attached to the frame I thereof. Water supply piping 24, that'is adapted to be connected to the city or town water mains (not shown), extend o5 horizontally through an aperture provided in a side wall 23 of the machine. A quick operating valve 25, is positioned behind front wall 2| and is connected in pipe 24. Valve 25 has a forwardly projecting operating arm 28 that projects through a slot provided in the front wall 2i to enable ready manual actuation of this arm by the machine operator. Arm 26 is illustrated as connected by a chain 2'! to a rod 28 projecting from the platform I 3.

Within the machine, the water supply piping extends downwardly at 24 and has a valve 29 therein operated by a handle 30 positioned in front of wall 2|, the shank of handle 30 projecting through an aperture in front wall 2I. Near the bottom of the machine, the water supply piping again extends horizontally of the machine at 24" and through the side wall 23, said piping ha ing a discharge end 3I connected to a suitable outlet drain. A branch pipe 32 connects the piping 24" to the bottom of cylinder I5. A valve 33 is connected in piping 24" between branch pipe 3; and discharge end 3I. Valve 33 has an operating handle 34 positioned in front of wall 2|, the shank of the handle extending through an aperture in front wall 2I. A pipe 31 connects the upper end or head of cylinder I5 with piping 24" at a point between valve 33 and discharge end 3|.

In use, valve 29 regulates the up speed of the platform I3, whereas the valve 33 regulates the down speed of the platform and hence that of the coating material container I2. Assuming that it is desired to coat the articles II suspended from the panel 8, the container I2 is first filled with the coating composition 35 such as a suitable lacquer while the platform I3 is in its lowest position. With the platform I3 and container I2 in their lowest positions, the articles II are suspended above the surface of the coating composition 35. Valve 33 is turned preferably to almost closed position and valve 29 is opened an amount depending upon the desired up or dipping speed of the machine.

The operating arm 26 of the quick opening valve 25 is now depressed, thereby allowing water to flow through piping 24 past valve 23, through branch pipe 32 and into the bottom of cylinder I5. Hydraulic pressure thus created within cylinder I5 causes piston I6 to move upwardly, thereby raising piston rod I4 and platform I3 so that the container I2 is raised, causing the coating material 35 therein to gradually surround the articles II as shown in Fig. 4. When the articles II are completely submerged in the coating material 35, the arm 26 is raised, thereby shutting off the supply of water and permitting the water within cylinder I5 to gradually flow out of this cylinder through branch pipe 32, valve 33 and pipe discharge end 3I.

The extent of opening of valve 33 determines the lowering or withdrawal speed of the container I2, and it is important that this speed should be somewhat slower than the natural speed of flow of the coating composition, or else rings or wrinkles will be formed on the articles Any water leaking up past piston I6 is con awed by pipe 31 to the discharge end of piping In practice, the up or dipping speed of the container I2 is usually faster than the natural speed of flow of the coating composition while the lowering or withdrawal speed is slower than the speed of flow of the coating composition. Since valve 33 is open somewhat at all times, the

escape of a limited quantity of water through this valve while piston I6 is rising serves to cushion any water hammer that may occur in the water supply piping so that container I2 is raised steadily and without jarring. When chain 2'! is employed, its length will automatically determine when the container I2 will start to descend.

The lowering or withdrawal movement of container I2 is extremely steady and smooth since this container descends solely by gravity, the speed of descent being easily set or determined by the adjusting of valve 33. This steady downward movement of the container I2 is conducive to the production of perfectly coated objects II, since no motor means is operating to set up vibrations in the coating liquid 35 which would produce rings or wrinkles on the work. After the articles II have been coated the panel 8 may be removed and another panel 8 carrying objects to be coated, substituted in its place. Thus, the output of the machine is very large for each reciprocation of the piston I6 effects a coating operation.

As many changes could be made in the above construction. and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, as defined by the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim 1. In a dipping machine of the character described, a vertical hydraulic operating cylinder, piping connecting said cylinder to a supply of water under pressure and to a drain, a piston reciprocatable within said cylinder, a piston rod extending upwardly from said piston and through the top of said cylinder, a container carrying platform mounted on the top of said piston rod, 9. container on said platform, and stationary work carrying means positioned above said platform, whereby upward movement of said piston due to the admission of water under pressure from said piping causes said container to rise so that coating liquid therein will envelop work supported by said work carrying means, some of the water under pressure escaping through said piping to the drain during the upward movement of said piston, thereby preventing the formation of ripples on the liquid surface of said container and hence producing perfect coating.

2. In a dipping machine of the character described, a vertical hydraulic operating cylinder, piping connecting said cylinder to a supply of water under pressure, valve means connected in said piping for controlling the supply of water to said cylinder, a piston within said cylinder and having a piston rod extending upwardly and out through the top of said cylinder, a container carrying platform mounted on the top of said piston rod, a coating material container on said platform, and stationary work carrying means positioned above said platform, whereby one operation of said valve means admits water under pressure to the underside of said piston and serves to effect upward movement of said piston and said container so that the coating liquid therein envelops work depending from said work carrying means, means for steadying said upward movement and another operation of said valve means allows the gradual escape of water from below said piston and serves to effect the lowering of said piston and said container by gravity so that the coating liquid is withdrawn from the work, the upward and lowering speeds of said container being determined by the setting of said valve means, said speeds being respectively faster and slower than the natural speed of flow of the coating liquid used.

3. In a dipping machine of the character described, a hydraulic cylinder, a piston movable within said cylinder and having a piston rod extending upwardly and out of said cylinder, a coating material container carried upon the top of said piston rod, a stationary work holding member positioned above said container, piping connecting the bottom of said cylinder to a source of water under pressure and to a drain, valves connected in said piping for controlling the flow of water under pressure to said cylinder beneath said piston and for controlling the flow of water from said cylinder to the drain, whereby said piston and hence said container may be raised and lowered at desired predetermined speeds to efiect the coating of work carried by said work holding member,

. the valve connecting said cylinder to the drain being continuously open whereby water hammer is eliminated and perfect coating of articles is obtained.

4. In a clipping machine of the character described, a hydraulic cylinder, a piston movable within said cylinder and having a piston rod extending upwardly and out of said cylinder, a coating material container carried upon the top of said piston rod, a stationary work holding member positioned above said container, piping connecting the bottom of said cylinder to a source of water under pressure and to a drain, adjustable valves connected in said piping, one of said valves serving to control the rate of flow of water under pressure to said cylinder beneath said piston for raising said container and another of said valves serving to control the rate of flow of water therefrom and hence the rate of lowering said container under the action of gravity, whereby the ascending and descending speeds of said piston and the container carried thereby'may be predetermined to suit the requirements of any particular job, the valve connecting said cylinder to the drain being continuously open whereby water hammer is eliminated and perfect coating of articles is obtained.

5. In a dipping machine of the character described, a hydraulic cylinder, a piston movable within said cylinder and having a piston rod extending upwardly and out of said cylinder, a coating material container carried upon the top of said piston rod, a work holding member positioned above said' container, piping connecting the bottom of said cylinder, to a source '01 water under pressure and to a drain, adjustable valves connected in said piping, one of said valves serving to control the rate of flow of water under pressure to said cylinder and another of said valves that is continuously open serving to control the rate of flow of water therefrom, and'a quick operating valve connected in said piping in advance of said adjustable valves for controlling the admission of water to said cylinder, the opening of said quick operating valve serving to admit water to said cylinder for raising said piston and hence said container so that the coating material therein will coat work carried by 'said work holding member, the sudden flow of water under pressure being cushioned by the escape of some water to the drain, whereby smooth movement of the container results, and the closing of said quick operating valve serving to shut oi! the supply of water to said cylinder, and enabling the water therein to drain out through said piping, thereby effecting the lowering of said container by gravity, said adjustable valves respectively determining the ascending and descending speeds or said container.

WILLIAM T. GREEN. 

